Sony swings to profit on LCD TVs, camera sales

IlyaGarger

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Sony Corp. said Thursday it swung to profit in the latest quarter as sales of its Bravia LCD TVs and Cyber-shot digital cameras made up for weakness in the company's game division.

The Japanese electronics giant posted a net profit of 32.3 billion yen ($281 million) in the quarter ended June 30, roughly double most analysts' estimates. In the same quarter a year ago, Sony posted a net loss of 7.3 billion yen.

Sony's
SNE, +1.69%
(6758) operating profit for the April-June quarter was 27 billion yen, compared to a loss of 6.6 billion yen a year ago.

Ahead of the results, Sony shares gained 2.24%. The Nikkei 225 Average (1804610) gained 1.99% on the day. Also see Asia Markets.

In the electronics division, sales rose 13.5% to 1.28 trillion yen, while the game division suffered a drop in sales of 29.1%, to 122.5 billion yen.

In electronics, CRT and plasma TV sales declined, and Sony said it was terminating development of new plasma TV models. In addition to LCD TVs and digital cameras, Sony said its line of Vaio computers, especially notebooks, registered strong demand. A relatively weak yen also bolstered earnings from overseas.

Sony also said that sales declined for PlayStation 2 game devices, PSP (PlayStation Portable) game devices, and game software. It has pinned its hopes on the success of the PlayStation 3 game console, which is scheduled to go on the market in November. See more technology coverage.

Sales at film division Sony Pictures Entertainment jumped 41.8% to 204.8 billion yen. However, the unit posted an operating loss of 1.2 billion yen, compared to an operating profit of 4.2 billion yen a year earlier. The Da Vinci Code, which has grossed $216 million in the U.S. and $741 million worldwide, accounted for nearly half of the division's sales.

The financial-services division reported a revenue drop of 19.3% to 124.1 billion yen, due mostly to a decline in earnings at insurer Sony Life, which saw "lower valuation gains... as a result of unfavorable Japanese stock market conditions."

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.